Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 3811 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, United States.
Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2012 Jan;2(1):36-54. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2011.06.002.
There have been rapid advances in understanding a broad range of changes in brain structure and function during adolescence, and a growing interest in identifying which of these neurodevelopmental changes are directly linked with pubertal maturation—at least in part because of their potential to provide insights into the numerous emotional and behavioral health problems that emerge during this developmental period. This review focuses on what is known about the influence of puberty on white matter development in adolescence.We focus on white matter because of its role in providing the structural architectural organization of the brain and as a structural correlate of communication within complex neural systems. We begin with a review of studies that report sex differences or sex by age interactions in white matter development as these findings can provide, although indirectly,information relevant to puberty-related changes. Studies are also critically reviewed based on methodological procedures used to assess pubertal maturation and relations with white matter changes. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for the development of neural systems underlying the regulation of emotion and behavior and how alterations in the development of these systems may mediate risk for affective disorders in vulnerable adolescents.
在理解青春期大脑结构和功能的广泛变化方面已经取得了快速进展，人们越来越感兴趣的是确定哪些神经发育变化与青春期成熟直接相关——至少部分原因是它们有可能深入了解在这一发展时期出现的众多情绪和行为健康问题。本篇综述重点介绍了青春期对大脑白质发育的影响。我们之所以关注白质，是因为它在提供大脑的结构组织架构以及作为复杂神经系统内通讯的结构相关物方面发挥了作用。我们首先回顾了报告白质发育中存在性别差异或性别与年龄相互作用的研究，因为这些发现虽然是间接的，但与与青春期相关的变化有关。我们还根据评估青春期成熟度及其与白质变化关系的方法程序对研究进行了批判性评估。我们根据这些研究结果讨论了其对调节情绪和行为的神经系统发育的意义，以及这些系统发育的改变如何可能在易受影响的青少年中为情感障碍的发生提供中介。
